CN sets weekly Canadian grain volume record

Train pulling multiple cars

MONTREAL – Canadian National set a new weekly tonnage record for Canadian grain the week of Oct. 16, the railroad announced Monday. CN move more than 806,000 metric tons of grain from Western Canada, eclipsing the previous record by more than 50,000 metric tons. The record, CN says, comes after CN posted its second-best September […]

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CN would accept trackage rights as alternative to divestiture of KCS Springfield Line (updated)

Two trains side-by-side

Kansas City Southern ES44AC No. 4753 leads train MVNKC (Manifest Venice-Kansas City) through Roodhouse, Ill., where the KCS line from Springfield, Ill., splits to go to Kansas City or St. Louis, on Sept. 17, 2021. Power for the Roodhouse local sits to the left. Steve Smedley WASHINGTON — Canadian National has asked federal regulators to […]

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News photo: Preparing for Amtrak’s return to Montreal

Passenger train on bridge near water, with high-rise apartments in background

MONTREAL — Operating as Amtk 694 (the train number Canadian National has always assigned to the southbound Adirondack while on CN rails), an Amtrak requalification run heads to Montreal’s Central Station on Thursday as it passes the mostly drained Peel Basin. While Amtrak service to Vancouver and Toronto was restored earlier this year, there is still […]

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Unifor, CN begin talks on new contract

Logo of Canadian union Unifor

MONTREAL — Unifor, Canada’s largest union, has opened bargaining with Canadian National for a new contract, the union said Wednesday. The union says it represents about 3,600 workers at CN terminals and headquarters across Canada, including mechanics, crane operators, machinists, electricians, and clericial, administrative, and customer-support workers. The current agreement expires on Dec. 31. “The […]

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CN challenges STB’s draft environmental review of CP-KCS merger

Kansas City Southern train leaves terminal

WASHINGTON — Canadian National is challenging some conclusions federal regulators reached in their draft environmental review of the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. Chief among them: The assumption that the merged Canadian Pacific Kansas City would not increase fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. CN, in an Oct. 14 filing with the Surface Transportation […]

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Canadian National receives first diesel in Wabtec remanufacturing order

Red, white, and black locomotive outside factory

FORT WORTH, Texas — On a sunny Thursday afternoon, officials from Canadian National Railway and Wabtec gathered outside Wabtec’s Fort Worth locomotive factory to celebrate the delivery of a brand new locomotive for Canadian National Railway. Or so it appeared. In fact, the officials were posing for photos with AC44C6M No. 3300, the first of […]

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CN, IBEW finalize new contract in Canada after arbitration

Canadian National logo

MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway announced Tuesday that it had reached a new three-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Canada after concluding arbitration with the union. The new contract, retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year and running through the end of 2024, includes 3% raises each year. The union represents […]

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Maintenance of way employees reject national contract with Class I railroads

BMWEDlogo

NOVI, Mich. – Members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees union have rejected the tentative national agreement that was reached last month with the U.S. Class I railroads. Some 56% of the rank and file voted against the contract, the union announced on Monday. Union leaders and the National Carriers Conference Committee that […]

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After seven days, STB hearings on CP-KCS merger conclude

Train with red, yellow, and black locomotives

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board hearings on the proposed Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern merger concluded Friday, Oct. 7, after seven days of testimony from shippers, communities, public officials, and other railroads. CP and KCS said the merger is a perfect fit, will increase competition, create new single-line routes, and provide their customers […]

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Bridge fire halts CN service on northern Alberta route

Detail from CN system map showing lines in northwestern Alberta

LATORNELL, Alberta — A bridge fire in northwestern Alberta has put a Canadian National rail line out of service for at least a week, halting shipments for farmers involved in what is expected to be an exceptional grain harvest. Real Agriculture reports the fire occurred early on Wednesday, Oct. 5, on CN’s Grand Cache Subdivision […]

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CP and KCS defend merger, rebut claims of critics including other Class I lines and Metra

Freight train with red locomotives on tracks near river

WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern made closing arguments for their proposed merger on Thursday, telling regulators that their combination was in the public interest and that critics either didn’t do their homework or were seeking conditions that would stifle competition. They also said that the CP-KCS merger would not lead to operational […]

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